Henry Cookson is the founder of Cookson Adventures, a pioneering travel company that creates bespoke experiences in some of the world's most remote and extreme locations. From organizing deep-sea submarine dives to orchestrating Antarctic expeditions, Cookson Adventures pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in luxury adventure travel. 

We sat down with Henry to discuss his love of exploration, his most memorable experiences, and why he’s a fan of Frangipani.

FP: You create some of the best adventures the world has to offer, how did it all start?

HC: It all started in Kenya on a horse riding safari in the Mara, and later, after quitting my job at Goldman Sachs, I found myself in limbo, meant to move to Africa but derailed by a family disaster. Then, an opportunity arose to race to the magnetic North Pole, despite knowing nothing about extreme cold, polar bears, or endurance. It was 11 days of agony, stalked by polar bears, but we won—beating Arctic warfare instructors, Everest climbers, and fell runners. Our edge? Years of London nights out, mastering sleep deprivation and pushing through when we felt like hell.

FP: And then you started Cookson Adventures?

HC: Well, after winning the North Pole race and making headlines with our wild stories, we set off on a kite-skiing expedition to Antarctica, reaching the Pole of Inaccessibility and discovering Lenin’s statue, earning a world record.

But after the high, I hit a low—no job, no girlfriend, no plan—so I trained as a guide in Alaska and started leading expeditions up Aconcagua. What began as "Henry Cookson Adventures" was never meant to be a business, just a way to explore without following the crowds. Over time, it evolved into taking the world's wealthiest people to remote places, offering them experiences far beyond material wealth—true adventure.

FP: How do you balance luxury with raw adventure in the experiences that you create?

HC: So, some people just want to beat themselves up and throw themselves off cliffs and dive with sharks whilst others want to explore the remotest parts of the world in style. Everyone's got a different sort of want and sometimes they don't even know. And so it's not just like an exploration of other parts of the world, it's an exploration of what people don't really know what they want to do, what their limits are. 

We typically stay away from hotels. We like to use private homes, private lodges. Sometimes we'll build a camp yachts work very, very well, which are the ultimate sort of bit of luxury. But the great thing about a yacht is you can move from place to place. And so people have that comfort of that bubble that they're familiar with. And then you can dip into the various places. We just did a honeymoon to Papua New Guinea and we had them, these people meeting tribes that had barely met Westerners.

Adventure should be about discovery, not just adrenaline. The best experiences challenge you, but they also leave you with a deeper appreciation of the world. I love designing trips where clients get to interact with scientists, conservationists, and historians—learning something along the way rather than just passing through.

 

FP: What is that you like about Frangipani?

HC:  I love my Frangipanis.  I like their individuality. I think they're quirky. Almost every time I wear one, someone will comment on it and you wear clothes every single day and no one ever says anything. 

And they have their own individual character, they're quirky - which I think  matches my way of life. The quality is great too; they last forever, which is key when you’re always on the move. And, honestly, they just make you feel good when you put one on.